#4 The Crate is Your Friend
Highfives Insights #4: To crate or not to crate? That should not be a question.
In my previous experience of walking dogs, I always found that the dogs who were crated when I come to pick them up were much more polite, less anxious, less destructive, and less excited.
In my experience of dog training, the crate provides a way to work on an owner's leadership skills and the dog's compliance. Too many problems stem from removal of the crate when a dog has not yet mastered being calm when confined (in moderation of course). There's nothing to argue about: Always choose to crate train.
A multitude of problems can be fixed easily by implementing Crate training into your dog’s lifestyle. Although I love the Place command, there are times when a crate is much more practical. Those times include:
-when training a new puppy or young dog in the household
-when you are unable to supervise your dog (while you are occupied, away from the house, or at night)
-when your dog needs a place to wind down in a busy environment
-when you are potty training your dog
The crate is a physical barrier that acts as a place of rest and containment for a dog. Most dogs will not pee or poo in the area which they eat and sleep so the crate helps by providing that necessary structure in creating a daily routine. The limited space also limits a dog’s options.
Problems occur when they receive too much freedom in the house... Puppies under 4 months old should be napping up to 20 hours in a 24 hour period. Without a black-and-white routine that involves supervised freedom and crate time, puppies or new dogs can begin having accidents, nipping, pacing, building anxiety, becoming overstimulated, and destroying things as a way to pacify their unease. Adult dogs also show these side effects when they are given no rules or guidance in the house.
The crate provides actual concrete rules: Do nothing but relax. Don't follow every movement. Stop the brain from cycling non-stop. Just relax.
And when it comes using a crate for behaviour modification, it's a no brainer. Physically you can’t always supervise your dog but when being crated, a dog CAN'T get into trouble so he has no choice but to relax. That doesn't just help with his state of mind but also limiting the irresponsible choices he could make.
The main correlation I see in families who have dogs with anxiety or separation problems that continue throughout their lives is crate-training gone wrong. Maybe it was the puppy who decided he was done with the crate, started resisting it, and got his own way. Or the adult dog, who always got free run of the house and then threw a tantrum when he was unceremoniously crated alone. Or the crate was viewed as a punishment. Sometimes just considering a crate starts making people feel guilty. Dogs inevitably start acting up when they sense that guilt and play on it.
Yes, it is not natural for an animal to be crated. I won’t spend time trying to convince you how a crate is like a den and dens are natural safe places for animals. But your entire house is technically a giant crate in the end. It is also not natural for dogs to live inside our homes, walk on leashes, and carry the burden of our emotional needs. We have domesticated dogs to stay with us but we still have to do a lot of training to teach them how to behave in a human world. I believe crate training should be a part of every dogs life. And it should never be given up on when a puppy resists or protests... That's a clear sign that a crate is definitely still needed.
If crate training is starting to go bad, the best thing to do is evaluate the rest of your dog’s lifestyle, limit freedoms and privileges, implement better structure, and use the crate more consistently. The crate is a great place for your dog to nap after intensive actives. If protests continue, contact a professional dog trainer who can help you address this in an appropriate manner. Separation anxiety is a very real issue, completely created by humans with multiple layers that may need to be addressed.
Also remember to pay attention to how you personally feel about the crate. Use the crate as a daily activity to add structure in your dog's life while giving yourself a life!
No train no gain!
Jenna